FinancialUnderground
Financial Underground

We are more interested in getting the Big Picture right than gambling with short-term trades in rigged markets.

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Last Notes

2025-05-22 13:27:39 UTC

Gold and the Great American Monetary Resets: From 1792 to Today
Throughout American history, monetary resets have been a recurring theme.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/gold-and-the-great-american-monetary-resets-from-1792-to-today/

2025-02-08 11:20:45 UTC

The Disturbing Truth About the Home You Think You Own
The North Dakota Referendum That Could Have Changed Everything
In 2012, North Dakota held a referendum to become the first US state to abolish property taxes.
The measure aimed to amend the state constitution, eliminating property taxes and requiring the government to find alternative revenue sources.
Proponents argued that property taxes were unnecessary since North Dakota already had ample income from state taxes and oil revenues. They also pointed out that property taxes disproportionately burdened low-income homeowners and senior citizens. Eliminating them, they claimed, would provide financial relief, boost economic growth, and attract businesses and residents.
However, a coalition of bureaucrats and special interest groups fought against the referendum.
In the end, voters overwhelmingly rejected the measure—78% chose to keep their property taxes.
A Disturbing Distortion of Property Rights
Most people thoughtlessly accept property taxes as a normal part of life—like gravity or the sun setting in the west.
Yet, a crucial truth is overlooked: there is no way to fully pay off your property tax obligation.
It never ends—it follows you as long as you own the property, increasing year after year.
This raises fundamental questions:
Do you really own something if you’re forced to make endless, ever-increasing payments just to keep it?
The answer is obvious: No.
You might possess the property, but you don’t truly own it—an important distinction.
Imagine if the mafia imposed a “coffee table tax” in your neighborhood. Every year, they demand $100 for every coffee table in your house—forever. If your coffee table increases in value, your payment increases.
Mafia enforcers would assess your coffee tables annually, ensuring they extract more money. Refuse to pay? You’d face threats, violence, or the outright confiscation of your coffee tables.
Would you say you own those coffee tables?
Most would recognize this as extortion. Yet, the same people accept government-imposed property taxes without question, paying endlessly for “their” homes, offices, and land.
In reality, you are merely renting from the true owner—the government. Stop paying, and you’ll quickly learn who really owns your property.
Governments routinely seize homes over unpaid property taxes.
Across North America and Europe, people pay tens of thousands of dollars in property taxes each year—just to live in their own homes. And the burden will only increase because nearly every government is in financial distress.
When politicians need more money, they raise property taxes—like turning a thermostat dial.
That’s why property taxes have nowhere to go but up.
Over a lifetime, it’s entirely possible that the government could extract more in property taxes than the value of the home itself.
The Inescapable Reality
Property rights and property taxes are inherently incompatible.
What’s yours should be yours—without having to pay for permission to keep it.
That’s why property taxes are an affront to property rights, which serve as the foundation of civilization itself.
As the great Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises once said:
“If history could teach us anything, it would be that private property is inextricably linked with civilization.”
Those who enforce, promote, and benefit from property taxes are the real anti-civilization forces.
The Harsh Truth
Unless you own property in one of the few places on Earth without property taxes—such as the Cayman Islands—you will be paying ever-increasing amounts for the rest of your life.
And as North Dakota’s referendum proved, even when given the rare chance to eliminate property taxes, the average person will fight to keep them.
It’s reminiscent of a pivotal scene from The Matrix, where Morpheus explains to Neo why most people will defend the very system that enslaves them:
“The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy.
But when you’re inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save.
But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy.
You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.”
This same mindset applies to property taxes. Most people are so accustomed to the system that they can’t imagine life without it.
The Bigger Picture
Property taxes are just one piece of the puzzle.
The same mindset holds true for inflation—another tax that steals wealth from the average person.
A growing majority of voters now benefit from government handouts, creating a built-in constituency to sustain policies that require endless taxation and inflation.
Here’s the bottom line.
Expect ever-increasing taxation and inflation until the system spirals out of control—which could happen sooner than most think.
Most people are completely unprepared for what’s coming.
We are heading toward a period of massive financial volatility that could wipe out life savings and retirement assets.
But this isn’t just about a stock market crash or currency collapse.
It’s something much bigger—with the potential to reshape the world and transfer unprecedented wealth from ordinary people to the parasitical class—politicians, central bankers, and their allies.
Few understand what’s really happening.
Even fewer know how to protect themselves.
That’s why I’ve put together an urgent PDF report outlining:
How the next crisis could unfold
What it means for investors
How to safeguard your wealth before it’s too late
This could be your last chance to prepare.
Click here now to get the full report before it’s too late.
https://financialunderground.com/reports/survive-and-thrive-during-the-most-dangerous-economic-crisis-in-100-years/

2024-10-14 14:52:00 UTC

When private businesses go bankrupt, shareholders get wiped out.
When governments go bankrupt, those who hold its fiat currency get wiped out.

2024-09-27 14:04:54 UTC

Central banks have only two tools in their toolbox:
1. Currency debasement
2. Gaslighting

2024-09-13 14:08:11 UTC

There was once a mathematician who supposedly invented the game of chess and presented it to his king.
The king, impressed by the game, asked the mathematician to name his reward.
The mathematician asked for grains of wheat, using the chessboard to calculate the amount. He requested that a single grain of wheat be placed on the first square and doubled for every subsequent square.
This means two grains on the second square, four on the third, eight on the fourth, and so on, for all 64 squares on the chessboard.
Initially, the request seemed modest to the king, who agreed.
However, the reality of exponential growth became apparent as the process unfolded.
By the time the board was half-covered (at the 32nd square), the number of grains was already enormous, reaching over four billion. As the squares continued to be filled, the numbers grew astronomically larger.
By the 64th square, the total wheat needed for the entire board reached 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 grains—about 18.4 quintillion.
To put this into context, let’s convert this to a more understandable measure, such as metric tons. The average weight of a grain of wheat is about 50 milligrams or 0.00005 kilograms.
18,446,744,073,709,551,615 grains * 0.00005 kilograms/grain = 922 trillion kilograms.
Since there are 1,000 kilograms in a metric ton, this equals about 922 billion metric tons.
To compare this with global wheat production, let’s consider recent figures. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the world’s wheat production in a recent year was about 761 million metric tons.
The 922 billion metric tons required for the chessboard is about 1,211 TIMES the entire global wheat production.
This example illustrates the astonishingly large number that results from exponential growth, even when starting with something as small as a single grain of wheat.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-debt-spiral-crosses-the-point-of-no-return/

2024-09-08 12:58:51 UTC

Trying to quantify a general increase in prices as a single number for over 334 million people—as the CPI claims to do—is an impossible task.
It’s even more ridiculous than using a national average weather temperature to indicate what clothes you should wear for the day.

2024-09-08 12:56:54 UTC

The reality is that inflation is 100% a political phenomenon.
Neither the local grocery store, the pharmacy, the restaurant owner, nor foreign scapegoats are responsible for inflation. The government—with its monopoly control over the currency—is.

2024-09-08 12:55:29 UTC

Since its founding in 1828, Webster’s Dictionary had defined inflation as “an increase in the money supply.” Then in 2003, it changed the definition to “a rise in the general price level.”
The difference might seem subtle, but it’s not. It’s a deliberate deception.
Redefining inflation this way confuses cause and effect, which is exactly why they did it.
Price increases are not inflation. Instead, they are an effect of inflation—an increase in the money supply.
When inflation is redefined as “a rise in the general price level,” many people are confused about what is happening and who is causing it. Inflation seems to come out of nowhere.
It would be like redefining robbery to mean “a mysterious property loss,” as if there was no robber.

2024-09-08 12:54:22 UTC

Though he was wrong on just about everything, John Maynard Keynes was on target when he said:
“Lenin was certainly right, there is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the basis of existing society than to debauch the currency.
This process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner not one man in a million is able to diagnose.”

2024-08-06 13:44:51 UTC

Whoever prevails in this battle will win WW3 and get to shape the new world order.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/world-war-3-decisive-battle/

2024-07-13 13:34:17 UTC

According to Forbes, there are around 806 billionaires in the US with a combined net worth of about $5.8 trillion.
Even if the US government confiscated 100% of their assets with a wealth tax, it wouldn't even cover federal spending for just one year.
It certainly wouldn't change the trajectory of the debt spiral, which is now an unstoppable trend.

2024-06-22 12:23:11 UTC

You Can’t Taper a Ponzi Scheme
https://financialunderground.com/articles/you-cannot-taper-a-ponzi-scheme/

2024-06-20 12:35:43 UTC

Dispelling Five More Myths: The Truth About Bitcoin
https://financialunderground.com/articles/dispelling-five-more-myths-the-truth-about-bitcoin/

2024-05-12 18:08:10 UTC

Bitcoin Paves the Way for a New Era of Free Market Banking
https://financialunderground.com/articles/bitcoin-paves-the-way-for-era-of-free-market-banking/

2024-04-20 13:00:18 UTC

For thousands of years, gold has always been mankind’s hardest money.
That all changed on April 19, 2024, and most people have no idea.
https://m.primal.net/HxoN.png

2024-04-15 14:10:23 UTC

A Unique Moment in Monetary History Is Days Away… and Most Have No Idea
https://financialunderground.com/articles/a-unique-moment-in-monetary-history-is-days-away-and-most-have-no-idea/

2024-04-10 13:25:47 UTC

How will you save for the future—or retirement—when the US dollar loses 50% of its value every nine years, in the best-case scenario?
In reality, you probably have much less than nine years before the US dollar loses half of its purchasing power again.
That’s a big problem EVERYONE will have to address soon.

2024-04-04 14:22:42 UTC

In a recent article, I analyzed the ten most decisive monetary attributes and examined whether gold or Bitcoin has an advantage. The table below summarizes the results.
Bitcoin wins in 6 out of the 10 categories, including hardness (resistance to debasement), which I believe will be the most decisive factor.
While gold has an advantage over Bitcoin in durability, that advantage will only be relevant in the case of an inescapable, global return to the Stone Age that lasts into eternity. Such an unlikely outcome is not relevant to investment decisions today.
Gold also has a fleeting advantage in liquidity, fungibility and privacy, and recognition. However, Bitcoin is eroding those advantages every day.
If current trends continue, I believe Bitcoin will overtake gold in these categories in the years ahead.
Putting it all together, gold’s advantages over Bitcoin are either irrelevant or melting away.
The inescapable conclusion is that Bitcoin has superior fundamental characteristics that make it a better tool for sending value through time and space.
Digital gold is better than analog gold.
In short, Bitcoin is likely to win the ultimate competition and become the world’s dominant money.
https://m.primal.net/HrKT.png

2024-04-04 14:18:55 UTC

In a recent article, I analyzed the ten most decisive monetary attributes and examined whether gold or Bitcoin has an advantage.
The table below summarizes the results.
https://m.primal.net/HrKT.png
https://financialunderground.com/articles/gold-vs-bitcoin-comparing-the-top-10-monetary-characteristics/

2024-03-28 21:20:10 UTC

On a recent CNBC segment, @npub15dq…lm5m discusses why Bitcoin as a medium of exchange is a distraction.
TLDR: "Nobody's trying to buy a cup of coffee with a fraction of their building on Fifth Avenue. But every rich person I know owns property in London, or New York City, or somewhere. And none of them complain about not being able to spend their building as a medium of exchange.
So, the killer application is capital preservation for everybody. The store of value is the killer use case. Medium of exchange is a distraction."
Andrew Ross Sorkin: Is there any risk that governments—the US government, Chinese government, other governments—somehow do something to Bitcoin that puts its growth in jeopardy?
Michael Saylor: It's another great question, Andrew.
A lot of times, the skeptics say, "Bitcoin looks too good to be true. It's so good to be true. Someone's going to take it away from you."
That's based on a fundamental misunderstanding about Bitcoin. People refer to it as currency or digital currency, and that's an unfortunate historical artifact.
It's not digital currency. It's digital property.
Once you make that big leap and understand its property, you see the compelling use case is capital preservation for everyone in the world.
There's no anathema associated with owning property.
You can own a billion-dollar building in New York City. Every place in the world where they allow you to own property—China, Europe, the US—they're going to embrace Bitcoin as digital property.
All the controversial issues around cryptos have to do with their use as a medium of exchange.
But what I'm here to say is medium of exchange is only worth a trillion dollars. Store and value is worth a hundred trillion dollars.
So I give your company, I give your family, I give your institution a billion dollars. I drop you in Africa and say, "You’ve got to save the capital for a hundred years. What are you going to buy?"
And the answer is nothing. There is nothing on the entire continent you can buy that's better than Bitcoin.
So, Bitcoin is going to be embraced as property.
It's going to be controversial if people think of it as a currency.
So, I would encourage people to think of it as digital property—a billion-dollar building in cyberspace and hold it for a hundred years.
Andrew Ross Sorkin: Does it ever have to be a currency, or do you think it ever becomes a “currency”?
Michael Saylor: It doesn't have to be a currency.
Nobody's trying to buy a cup of coffee with a fraction of their building on Fifth Avenue. But every rich person I know owns property in London, or New York City, or somewhere. And none of them complain about not being able to spend their building as a medium of exchange.
So, the killer application is capital preservation for everybody. The store of value is the killer use case. Medium of exchange is a distraction.
Governments are always going to issue currency. They're always going to make it legal tender, and that's just fine.
Bitcoin is competing with gold—it's going to eat it. Then it's competing with risk assets as a long-term holding, and it's competing with you buying an Airbnb as a retirement income source if you're a middle-class person.

2024-03-25 14:09:15 UTC

Owning 1 BTC is like owning 324 ounces of the global gold supply.
Owning 1.236 BTC is like owning a 400-ounce Good Delivery gold bullion bar.

2024-03-24 12:22:24 UTC

Platinum and palladium are scarcer than gold but not hard assets. Current production is high relative to existing stockpiles.
That's why platinum and palladium are industrial metals, almost nobody uses them as money.

2024-03-24 12:17:31 UTC

Given the characteristics of gold and Bitcoin, which is best suited for sending value through time and space?
https://financialunderground.com/articles/gold-vs-bitcoin-comparing-the-top-10-monetary-characteristics/

2024-03-19 13:19:34 UTC

- reply

https://financialunderground.com/articles/gold-vs-bitcoin-the-ultimate-competition-to-be-the-best-money/

2024-03-19 13:19:22 UTC

A common misconception says money also needs to have some industrial use for it to be good money.
However, that’s like saying a shoe must also be useful as a hammer to be a good shoe.
Many people incorrectly reason that Bitcoin can’t be a good money because it has no industrial or non-monetary utility.
However, industrial use is not needed to make something useful as money. Using something as money—i.e., to store and exchange value—is sufficient for it to be money.
The fact that gold has some industrial use doesn’t give it superior monetary properties. People value gold as money primarily because it’s the one physical commodity most resistant to debasement—not because it’s used in dentistry, electronics, or other industries.
On the contrary, I’d argue that gold’s relatively small industrial uses do not enhance its monetary characteristics. If they did, why aren’t metals with more industrial use—like copper or nickel—more desirable as money?
When it comes to money, I’m only interested in its ability to store and exchange value. I’m not interested in something whose value is hostage to the whims of ever-changing industrial conditions.
This is why industrial use is not a monetary benefit but, in fact, a potential detriment.
Gold would be an even better money without the variation in its supply and demand from its industrial uses, which are unrelated to its use as money.

2024-03-19 12:08:24 UTC

Is Bitcoin demonetizing gold?
https://financialunderground.com/articles/gold-vs-bitcoin-the-ultimate-competition-to-be-the-best-money/

2024-03-12 12:50:28 UTC

- reply

https://financialunderground.com/articles/world-war-3-investment-guide-strategic-assets-for-uncertain-times/
https://m.primal.net/HkCe.png

2024-03-12 12:49:35 UTC

While it’s impossible to quantify the conflict precisely, we can look at the various domains of World War 3, see how each side stacks up, and make projections from there.
It seems to me the advantage of NATO & Friends in financial warfare is fleeting and mostly neutralized by the advantage of BRICS+ in economic warfare.
Across most other domains, neither side has a conclusive advantage.
NATO & Friends has an edge in information warfare, but I don’t think that will prove decisive in the overall conflict.
The one domain that I think will probably determine World War 3 is proxy warfare, where BRICS+ has the advantage and momentum.
NATO & Friends could reverse the situation with the proxy wars. However, that would require them to take a bad hand and double down in a desperate attempt to get even. They may do so if they have nothing to lose, but I doubt it will change the outcome.
As it stands now, I think there is an excellent chance that BRICS+ will prevail in World War 3 as they prevail in the three decisive proxy wars in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Taiwan and also neutralize NATO & Friends’ edge in financial warfare by developing alternatives.
That means we’re likely to see the end of the unipolar world order and the emergence of a multipolar world order.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/world-war-3-investment-guide-strategic-assets-for-uncertain-times/https://m.primal.net/HkCe.png

2024-03-05 12:37:19 UTC

Who Will Prevail in World War 3?
Exploring the 7 Key Battlefields
https://financialunderground.com/articles/who-will-prevail-in-world-war-3-exploring-the-7-key-battlefields/

2024-03-02 13:04:26 UTC

3 indisputable facts about altcoins.
#1. In the history of altcoins, only 3 have ever made new highs in BTC terms after their initial pump.
#2. One of them was Dogecoin, a joke with no practical use case, because Elon pumped it.
3. Practically every altcoin has exactly the same chart over the long-term. (see below)
https://www.swanbitcoin.com/bitcoin-and-the-one-hit-wonder-altcoins/
https://m.primal.net/Hgrq.png

2024-03-01 14:54:41 UTC

Did you know the Bitcoin price reached parity with the gold price in April 2017 and never looked back?
Today, it takes over 30 ounces of gold to buy a single Bitcoin.
Is Bitcoin demonetizing gold?
https://m.primal.net/HgcJ.png

2024-02-24 11:43:44 UTC

The business of central banking is usury and tax farming.
They create fake money out of thin air, loan it to governments, charge interest on fake the money, and get governments to collect taxes on average citizens to pay the interest on the fake money.
Like the mafia, they can deploy violence to ensure there is no competition to their priveledged racket.
It's long past time to end this scam of historical proportions.

2024-02-20 10:24:17 UTC

World War 3 and the New World Order
https://financialunderground.com/articles/world-war-3-and-the-new-world-order/

2024-02-13 12:04:31 UTC

The #1 Warning Sign Capital Controls Are Coming Soon and 4 Ways To Beat Them
The carnage always comes by surprise… weekends and holidays are the perfect time to catch people off guard.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-1-warning-sign-capital-controls-are-coming-soon-and-4-ways-to-beat-them/

2024-02-06 13:35:05 UTC

3 Shocking Truths Most People Don’t Know About Money in Bank Accounts…
The banking system is a fragile illusion that could collapse suddenly, potentially wiping out the savings of millions who misplace their confidence in it.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/3-shocking-truths-most-people-dont-know-about-money-in-bank-accounts/https://m.primal.net/HaxK.png

2024-01-30 12:54:52 UTC

Governments will probably mandate CBDCs as the “solution” when the next real or contrived crisis hits—which is likely not far off.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-globalists-want-cbdcs-in-2024-what-really-comes-next-will-surprise-them/

2024-01-28 13:27:58 UTC

The Globalists Want CBDCs in 2024… What Really Comes Next Will Surprise Them
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-globalists-want-cbdcs-in-2024-what-really-comes-next-will-surprise-them/

2024-01-25 19:28:11 UTC

- reply

This guy has some of the best insights:
https://www.bowtiedmara.io/
https://twitter.com/BowTiedMara

2024-01-25 19:05:49 UTC

Bitcoin has tremendous value as a technology for freedom—even if the price stays flat forever.
That’s because Bitcoin allows anybody to hold money that nobody can debase and enables anyone to send and receive value worldwide without relying on any third party.
That represents a revolutionary improvement in money and economic liberty.

2024-01-22 21:12:06 UTC

The 2024 Debt Spiral: How $1 Trillion in Interest Is Breaking the Federal Budget
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-2024-debt-spiral-how-1-trillion-in-interest-is-breaking-the-federal-budget/

2024-01-16 11:57:38 UTC

2024: The Year of the Inflection Point
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-year-of-the-inflection-point/

2024-01-09 13:28:23 UTC

For thousands of years, gold has always been mankind’s hardest money.
That is all set to change in a few months, and most people have no idea.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-top-5-bitcoin-catalysts-of-2024/

2024-01-09 13:03:58 UTC

Several imminent catalysts could catapult the Bitcoin price into the stratosphere.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-top-5-bitcoin-catalysts-of-2024/

2024-01-08 13:08:51 UTC

If you think Bill Ackman is some anti-woke crusader, congratulations, you've been officially gaslit.

2024-01-08 10:41:00 UTC

The Top 5 Bitcoin Catalysts of 2024
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-top-5-bitcoin-catalysts-of-2024/

2024-01-03 10:39:35 UTC

US government is now borrowing money to pay interest on the federal debt.
Extreme currency debasement comes next...
https://financialunderground.com/reports/survive-and-thrive-during-the-most-dangerous-economic-crisis-in-100-years/
https://m.primal.net/HWPs.png

2023-12-26 13:26:33 UTC

Before Bitcoin, obtaining consensus required a central authority.
Think of a traditional bank that you use.
The bank is needed to keep an internal ledger of accounts and balances, including your balance and transaction history.
It would be impossible to keep accurate records without a trusted centralized entity determining what is true for everyone in this situation.
Now imagine an innovation that removes the need for the centralized entity (the bank) to keep an accurate record of all the accounts, balances, and transactions.
It allows everyone to be their own sovereign bank without needing trusted third parties.
That’s Bitcoin.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/who-is-satoshi-nakamoto/

2023-12-24 12:30:48 UTC

Who Is Satoshi Nakamoto?
https://financialunderground.com/articles/who-is-satoshi-nakamoto/

2023-12-19 15:31:08 UTC

Remember, politicians wanted only government-approved cryptography, in which the state would always have backdoor access and the ability to decrypt any message.
The government may have had its way had it not been for the Cypherpunks.
More...
https://financialunderground.com/articles/a-preemptive-strike-against-an-orwellian-future/

2023-12-19 10:09:16 UTC

A Preemptive Strike Against an Orwellian Future
https://financialunderground.com/articles/a-preemptive-strike-against-an-orwellian-future/

2023-12-15 17:47:03 UTC

My latest on @npub1z7e…0qhv
Can The Government Ban Bitcoin? Four Things You Need To Know Today
https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/can-government-ban-bitcoin-four-things-you-need-know-today

2023-12-12 19:06:39 UTC

- reply

It was published today.

2023-12-12 12:37:39 UTC

Can the Government Ban Bitcoin?
Four Things You Need To Know Today
https://financialunderground.com/articles/can-the-government-ban-bitcoin-four-things-you-need-to-know-today/

2023-12-05 03:43:45 UTC

Five Common Bitcoin Misconceptions Debunked
https://financialunderground.com/articles/five-common-bitcoin-misconceptions-debunked/

2023-11-27 22:34:20 UTC

During the first oil shock in 1973, about 5 million barrels were removed from the global oil market. Daily global oil production was approximately 56 million barrels per day at the time, which means about 9% of the supply vanished.
Oil prices roughly quadrupled.
During the second oil shock in 1979, about 4 million barrels were removed from the global oil market. Daily global oil production was approximately 67 million barrels per day at the time, which means about 6% of the supply vanished.
Oil prices nearly tripled.
During the third oil shock in 1990, about 4.3 million barrels were removed from the global oil market. Daily global oil production was approximately 66 million barrels per day at the time, which means about 7% of the supply vanished.
Oil prices more than doubled.
If Iran were to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, it would remove a whopping 21 million barrels of oil from the global market. Today, global oil production is approximately 94 million barrels per day, which means about 22% of the worldwide oil supply could disappear.
As we can see in the chart below, it would be the largest oil supply shock the world has ever seen… by far.
https://m.primal.net/HRVG.png
https://financialunderground.com/articles/one-step-from-the-biggest-oil-shock-in-history/

2023-11-22 13:51:52 UTC

Doug Casey on the Use of Children in Propaganda
https://internationalman.com/articles/doug-casey-on-the-use-of-children-in-propaganda/

2023-11-21 14:06:32 UTC

American support for Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War was the catalyst for the OPEC embargo, which caused the first oil shock. The oil price roughly quadrupled, from around $3 per barrel to about $12 in a matter of days.
It immediately triggered an energy crisis. There were gas shortages and panic in the US as drivers sat in lines stretching for blocks, waiting to fill their gas tanks.
The second oil shock followed in 1979 as crude prices nearly tripled. A large conflict in the Middle East was again the cause—the Iranian Revolution and the subsequent Iran-Iraq War.
A third oil shock occurred in 1990 as Iraq invaded Kuwait, causing oil prices to more than double.
Here’s the bottom line.
Big Middle East wars are often catastrophic for global oil supplies. And supply disruptions cause price spikes. It’s a simple relationship.
This isn’t surprising. Analysts estimate that over 40% of global oil exports come from the Middle East.
Today, the Middle East is again on the cusp of a large regional war between Iran and its allies and Israel and its allies. The conflict could potentially be more destructive than the conflicts that caused the prior oil shocks.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/middle-east-wars-and-oil-shocks/

2023-11-14 00:40:58 UTC

A $250 Million War Game and Its Shocking Outcome
https://financialunderground.com/articles/a-250-million-war-game-and-its-shocking-outcome/

2023-11-09 13:30:30 UTC

.@`saifedean`
"Israel's claim to Palestinian land based on Israelis having descended from inhabitants of the land 2,000 years ago is absurd. Property rights are individual, not ethnic. There is no sane way of establishing a peaceful civilized society if property rights were subject to dispute by collective entities with vague ancient tales. Civilization can only function if individual property rights are respected and pre-1948, anyone of any religion could own land in Palestine and the system of property rights was accepted by all inhabitants.
European Zionist migrants to Palestine accepted the legitimacy of the system of property rights prevalent there and bought many properties from the locals. They then decided these property rights are invalid, massacred and expelled Palestinians, and refused to allow them to return to their property. No matter what the ethnic history of the land is, nothing justifies these crimes. Yet what makes them even more absurd is that the Zionist claim based on ethnicity doesn't even survive simple genetic analysis: Palestinians are genetically closer to the inhabitants of Palestine 2,000 years ago than the European Zionists who expelled and murdered them based on their supposed ethnicity.
And so today more than 90% of the land controlled by Israel is owned by the Israel Land Authority, a government agency that only allocates it to people who identify as Jewish, regardless of their link to ancient descendants, while denying property rights to the locals who descended from the original inhabitants.
Property rights are the root of this conflict, and not some insane nonsense about religions hating each other. Muslims, Jews, and Christians coexisted peacefully for hundreds of years in Palestine as long as they all had the right to property. Zionism made property rights available only to adherents of a political movement claiming to be an ethno-religious group, and there hasn't been peace since."
-Saifedean Ammous

2023-10-03 13:22:12 UTC

For thousands of years, gold has always been mankind’s hardest money.
That is all set to change in a matter of months, and most people have no idea.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/harder-than-gold-faster-than-fiat-2/

2023-09-05 13:20:42 UTC

The people really in charge do not want the average person to have genuine freedom of movement or access to independent power sources.
They want to know everything, keep you dependent, and have the ability to control everything, just like how a farmer would with his cattle. They think of you in similar terms.
That’s why gasoline vehicles have to go and why they are trying to herd us into electric vehicles.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/3-reasons-theres-something-sinister-with-the-big-push-for-electric-vehicles/

2023-08-28 14:44:13 UTC

Governments, the media, academia, large corporations, and celebrities tout an imminent “transition” to electric vehicles as if it’s preordained from above.
It’s not.
They’re trying to manufacture your consent for a scam of almost unimaginable proportions.

2023-08-28 13:12:26 UTC

When the average person hears “fossil fuels,” they think of a dirty technology that belongs in the 1800s. Many believe they are burning dead dinosaurs to power their cars. They also think fossil fuels will run out soon and destroy the planet within a decade.
None of these absurd things are true, but many people believe them. Using misleading and vague language plays a large role.
I suggest expunging “fossil fuels” from your vocabulary in favor of hydrocarbons—a much better and more precise word.

2023-08-28 13:04:48 UTC

In warfare, the loser is likely to be the country that goes broke first.
https://internationalman.com/articles/the-outcome-of-war-with-russia/

2023-08-24 14:27:44 UTC

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For what it's worth, here's how I see it...
https://financialunderground.com/articles/crisis-and-chaos-heres-what-to-expect-as-the-world-order-collapses/
And
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-graveyard-of-empires-the-top-investments-as-the-world-order-collapses/

2023-08-22 15:24:14 UTC

Prices are never going back to the levels they were.
It's a new baseline that only gets adjusted higher.
It’s like trying to run on a treadmill where the speed only ratchets up.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/how-inflation-destroys-civilization-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/

2023-08-22 15:11:35 UTC

It’s only a matter of time before “fight for $15″—the rallying cry for a $15 minimum wage—becomes “fight for $20.” Then it’s “fight for $50,” “fight for $100,” and so forth.
People should really fight to end the Federal Reserve and the fake money they create out of thin air and force everyone else to use.
It’s the only way to end this insidious cycle that impoverishes everyone except the politically-connected insiders closest to the money printing.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/how-inflation-destroys-civilization-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/

2023-08-22 13:16:48 UTC

The US is headed straight into an inescapable downward spiral of a political-inflation cycle that follows a clear pattern and creates a self-perpetuating doom loop.
1. In a fiat currency system, the government will inevitably print an ever-increasing amount of currency to finance itself.
2. This makes prices and living costs rise faster than wages.
3. The average person feels the pain but doesn’t understand what’s happening.
4. More people support politicians who promise freebies to supposedly relieve the pain inflation causes.
5. In order to pay for the “freebies,” the government prints more currency.
6. This creates even more inflation, and the cycle repeats.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/how-inflation-destroys-civilization-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/

2023-08-22 13:05:11 UTC

A trillion is a massive, almost unfathomable number.
The human brain has trouble understanding something so huge. So let me try to put it into perspective.
If you earned $1 a second 24/7/365—about $31 million per year—it would take you over 31,688 YEARS to make $1 trillion.
So that’s how enormous a trillion is.
When politicians carelessly spend and print money measured in the trillions, you are in dangerous territory.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/how-inflation-destroys-civilization-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/

2023-08-08 19:05:49 UTC

As the de-banking trend accelerates, there’s never been a time when it’s been riskier NOT to own Bitcoin.
More and more people will discover Bitcoin as the best alternative to the rotten banking system.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/de-banked-its-only-a-matter-of-time-before-it-happens-to-you/

2023-08-08 13:10:08 UTC

The notion of a free market in money is laughable.
We don’t have free market money; we have communist money forced upon us with violence and threats of violence.
In a truly free market for money, people would voluntarily choose whatever was most suitable for storing and exchanging value.

2023-08-08 13:07:25 UTC

De-banking is another example of how formerly free societies are rapidly descending into high-tech totalitarianism.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/de-banked-its-only-a-matter-of-time-before-it-happens-to-you/

2023-07-23 12:07:17 UTC

What will the Bitcoin supply be in 5 years?
20,361,265
What will the Ethereum supply be in 5 years?
????

2023-07-10 20:14:11 UTC

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I hope they go for it! Will be hilarious

2023-07-10 19:54:12 UTC

I wouldn't worry too much about BlackRock trying to make an ESG Bitcoin.
Even if they were foolish enough to do so, I doubt it would be more successful than Bcash.
http://nostr.build/i/a778a59e22e527c349c9b8b31f1823d9da4517f62f2c4f598dcc95a6d5788c63.png

2023-06-20 15:29:16 UTC

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Thanks I'll take a look.

2023-06-20 15:25:23 UTC

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What are the pros/cons compared to Phoenix Wallet?

2023-06-20 14:59:05 UTC

Any country can turn into a Venezuela—or worse—faster than most can imagine or prepare for.
A second passport gives you the legal right to live and work elsewhere.
It guarantees you won’t have to live like a refugee if you can get out of Dodge.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-top-7-reasons-why-you-need-a-second-passport-today/

2023-06-20 12:45:12 UTC

Before World War I, you didn’t need a passport to travel internationally.
It was a self-evident truth that a sovereign individual could travel anywhere he wanted without asking for anyone’s permission.
Unfortunately, that’s not how travel works today.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-top-7-reasons-why-you-need-a-second-passport-today/

2023-06-15 12:58:57 UTC

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An over-rated shitcoiner making an attention seeking ploy. Ignore.

2023-06-12 17:27:59 UTC

I think the SEC should have been abolished yesterday, and there should be a totally free market in investments.
That would be better for everyone except the insiders who benefit from the cronyism of the current system.
That said, as a practical matter, nobody should be surprised that the SEC and US government go after those who flout it.
If you have a centralized group of people creating a digital token, giving a bunch to themselves, marketing it to pump the price, and then dumping it on the retail market without a registration statement and disclosing who owns the token, that’s like sticking your head in a crocodile’s mouth and hoping it doesn’t bite.
You would have to be pretty dim not to see the SEC would inevitably go after crypto. Anyone with their eyes open could have seen it coming from a mile away.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-crypto-crackdown-intensifies-what-comes-next-and-what-you-need-to-do-now/

2023-06-10 15:14:40 UTC

Privacy coins are shitcoins...
The most important characteristic of a good money is that it is credibly “hard to produce,” which makes it resistant to debasement.
All other monetary characteristics—including privacy and fungibility—are meaningless if the money is easy for someone to produce.
For example, I can obtain good privacy by using physical Mexican peso bills in transactions, but that doesn’t mean the peso is good money.
The same concept applies to so-called privacy coins.
Like all altcoins, it is trivial for privacy coin developers to change the protocol through hard forks, which they frequently do. That means their monetary policies have no credibility, and their scarcity is artificial because the developers can change the protocol. It might be a neat privacy tool, but it won’t be a good money.
It is far better to have a money that is credibly resistant to debasement—like Bitcoin—and build privacy features on top of it rather than start with something that can easily be debased but has good privacy.
Further, several excellent privacy tools are available to anyone right now on Bitcoin, eliminating any need for privacy coins.

2023-06-06 22:47:15 UTC

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It's a game of hot potato with fundamentally worthless tokens.
It's a game of finding the next dog coin, not investing in the next Steve Jobs.

2023-06-06 22:08:37 UTC

The Case Against Altcoins: 3 Reasons Why You Should Stick to Bitcoin Only
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-case-against-altcoins-3-reasons-why-you-should-stick-to-bitcoin-only/

2023-06-06 22:08:05 UTC

Once people realize altcoins are not good money, they often fall back on the claim that they are like equity or investing in tech start-ups.
When you invest in the equity of a start-up, you have an ownership stake. It’s a legal claim to the assets of the business and its future cash flows.
However, altcoins do not represent any ownership stake or legal claim on any asset or cash flow whatsoever. That’s why they are nothing like equity, despite what many believe.
It would be similar to mistaking Chuck E. Cheese arcade tokens or airline frequent flyer miles for an ownership stake in the underlying airline or arcade business.
But suppose altcoins did represent an ownership stake or a claim on an asset. They would then undoubtedly be “securities,” which means their developers must register with the government.
Practically no altcoins have registered as a securities, yet most of them probably are indeed securities—even though they offer no legal claim to ownership.
Given their statements, it’s clear that the SEC views altcoins as unregistered securities.
That’s because altcoins have issuers.
By contrast, the SEC and the rest of the US government have been clear that it views Bitcoin—and only Bitcoin—as a commodity, a much more favorable designation.
That’s because Bitcoin does not have an issuer.
It brings up another relevant point. Most altcoins would cease to exist if the SEC went after them, which illustrates that, despite the marketing claims and technobabble, altcoins are not decentralized.
Here’s the bottom line…
When you buy altcoins you get the worst of both worlds.
You get the regulatory and legal risk of owning an unregistered security without any ownership stake in assets or future income.
Altcoins are nothing like equity.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-case-against-altcoins-3-reasons-why-you-should-stick-to-bitcoin-only/

2023-06-06 22:07:17 UTC

Altcoins are securities because they have issuers.
Bitcoin—and only Bitcoin—is a commodity because it does not have an issuer.

2023-05-21 13:42:36 UTC

Bugs are the new seed oils.
The Economist: “We’re not going to convince Europeans and Americans to go out in big numbers and start eating insects… The trick might be to slip them into the food chain on the quiet.”

2023-04-25 14:19:03 UTC

There are four powerful trends that I think will push hydrocarbon prices higher.
Trend #1—The End of the Petrodollar System: The US government will soon lose its ability to print money to buy energy—an incredible privilege no other country has. That will have significant consequences for oil prices.
Trend #2—Rampant Currency Debasement: Governments worldwide have no choice but to engage in ever-increasing currency debasement. 2023 could be the year it reaches a crescendo.
Trend #3—Carbon Hysteria and Under-Investment: Governments have redirected trillions in capital away from nuclear and hydrocarbons and sent it to wind and solar. Further, ESG madness, “net zero” goals, and other unfavorable government policies have led to a massive under-investment in hydrocarbons. I expect the carbon hysteria will cause tighter supplies and higher prices.
Trend #4—Geopolitical Turmoil: The conflict between Russia (the 2nd largest oil exporter) and Ukraine has no end in sight. Tensions with Iran could explode at any moment. As a result, geopolitical turmoil could easily escalate, causing hydrocarbon supply disruptions out of Russia and the Middle East.

2023-04-25 14:01:12 UTC

Sloppy, vague words lead to sloppy, vague thinking.
The term “fossil fuels” is an excellent example of this.
When the average person hears “fossil fuels,” they think of a dirty technology that belongs in the 1800s.
Many believe they are burning dead dinosaurs to power their cars.
They also think fossil fuels will run out soon and destroy the planet within a decade.
None of these absurd things are true, but many people believe them.
Using misleading and vague language plays a large role.
I suggest expunging “fossil fuels” from your vocabulary in favor of hydrocarbons—a much better and more precise word.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-great-energy-deception-the-truth-behind-the-5-trillion-renewable-energy-scam/

2023-04-21 17:03:17 UTC

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Monero and all so-called "privacy coins' ARE shitcoins... here's why....
The most important characteristic of a good money is that it is credibly “hard to produce,” which makes it resistant to debasement.
All other monetary characteristics—including privacy and fungibility—are meaningless if the money is easy for someone to produce.
For example, I can obtain good privacy by using physical Argentine peso bills in transactions, but that doesn’t mean the peso is good money.
The same concept applies to so-called privacy coins.
Like all altcoins, it is trivial for privacy coin developers to change the protocol through hard forks, which they frequently do. That means their monetary policies have no credibility, and their scarcity is artificial because the developers can change the protocol. It might be a neat privacy tool, but it won’t be a good money.
It is far better to have a money that is credibly resistant to debasement—like Bitcoin—and build privacy features on top of it rather than start with something that can easily be debased but has good privacy.
More...
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-case-against-altcoins-3-reasons-why-you-should-stick-to-bitcoin-only/

2023-04-11 18:48:36 UTC

Three things most people don't know about money in bank accounts...
#1. It's not yours.
#2. It's not there.
#3. It's not money.

2023-04-08 14:08:09 UTC

The Case Against Altcoins: 3 Reasons Why You Should Stick to Bitcoin Only
https://financialunderground.com/articles/the-case-against-altcoins-3-reasons-why-you-should-stick-to-bitcoin-only/

2023-04-07 16:20:02 UTC

https://nostr.build/i/nostr.build_e57c11404b303687a0f59f4a625e65d2f5c3837cb42d2b03348c17654f2a4281.png

2023-04-03 17:56:24 UTC

It’s hard to overstate how much the petrodollar system benefits the US. It’s the bedrock of the US financial system and has underpinned the dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency since the 1970s."
Is this era coming to an end?
https://financialunderground.com/articles/is-the-collapse-of-the-petrodollar-imminent-heres-how-it-could-impact-the-worlds-reserve-currency/

2023-02-26 15:26:19 UTC

Imagine if Tony Soprano forced his neighborhood to buy “breathing credits” from him, which grant you the privilege to breathe a certain amount of air.
Governments are doing the same with carbon credits.
Except they are also gaslighting you by claiming they're saving the planet.
https://financialunderground.com/articles/carbon-credits-are-the-biggest-scam-since-indulgences-how-you-can-avoid-being-fleeced/

2023-02-09 13:20:07 UTC

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Thankfully yes they are there... now how do I restore them? Is it manual or do I login there?

2023-02-09 13:07:38 UTC

I just lost all my follows...
It appears because I was trying out different Nostr clients.
Has this happened to anyone else? What can be done about this?

2023-02-05 15:56:54 UTC

It's clear Nostr is a game-changer for free speech.
So why aren't shitcoiners rejoicing?
Because Nostr is proof you don't need a token.
It's also proof shitcoiners are more interested in selling useless tokens they can create out of thin air than a truly decentralized web.